High Caucasus : A Mountain Quest in Russia’s Haunted Hinterland

Outstanding' times 'Gripping' economist

Shortlisted for the rsl christopher bland prize
Shortlisted for the pushkin house book prize
Shortlisted for the edward stanford travel book of the year

Emotionally scarred after witnessing the bloody climax of the beslan school siege in russia's north caucasus, in which 314 hostages died, tom parfitt set out on a journey.

In high caucasus, he shares his remarkable thousand-mile quest in search of personal peace - and a greater understanding of the roots of violence in a region whose fate has tragic parallels with the ukraine of today.

Starting in sochi on the black sea and walking the mountains to derbent, the ancient fortress city on the caspian, parfitt traverses the political, religious and ethnic fault-lines of seven russian republics, including chechnya and dagestan.

Through bear-haunted forests, across high altitude pastures and over the shoulders of elbrus, europe's highest mountain, he finds companionship and respite in the homes of proud, little-known peoples.

This is a stunning story of confronting trauma through connection with history, people and place.